Economy and Investment Climate Georgios Sakoufakis Head of the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TUNISIA Economy and Investment Climate Georgios Sakoufakis Head of the Office for the Economic And Commercial Affairs Embassy of Greece in Tunis

General Data Area: 163.610 km 2   Population: 11.134.588 (2016 est.) Capital: Tunis (2,5 mln) Largest Cities: Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, Kairouan, Gabès  GDP (current US$): 42,063 Billion   GDP - real growth rate 2017: 1,9%,  GNI per capita 2016: Atlas method (current US$) 3.690 Public Debt: 66.5% of GDP (2017 est.)  Unemployment rate: 15%   Exports: $14.22 billion (2017 est.) Imports: $19.57 billion (2017 est.)  2

Rankings  World Bank, Doing Business, Ranking 77 th /190 , 6/20 countries of MENA Region http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings  Global Competitiveness Index, Ranking 95th/138 https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-competitiveness-report- 2017-2018  Transparency International, Ranking 75/175 http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview  Global Innovation Index, Ranking 77/128 https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicator. 3

International Trade  EU is Tunisia’s largest trading partner (France, Italy, Germany, Spain) followed by China, Algeria, USA, Turkey, Russia, Libya  Negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between EU – Tunisia  Exports: clothing, semi-finished goods and textiles, agricultural products, mechanical goods, phosphates and chemicals, hydrocarbons, electrical equipment  Imports: textiles, machinery and equipment, hydrocarbons, chemicals, foodstuffs  Focus of Tunisian Economic Diplomacy on Africa 4

Bilateral Trade BILATERAL TRADE GREECE - TUNISIA 2016-2017 180000000.0 160000000.0 140000000.0 120000000.0 EXPORTS IMPORTS 100000000.0 80000000.0 VOLUME BALANCE 60000000.0 40000000.0 20000000.0 .0 5

Bilateral Agreements  Convention for the avoidance of double taxation (Law 3742/2009)  Agreement on the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments (Law 2183/94) 6

Investment Environment in Tunisia  Attractive policies, friendly environment for FDI  More Than 3.350 foreign investments  85% European investments  67% in Greater Tunis, 27% Coastal Zone, only 6% in other regions  Top 5 Investor Countries (2016): France, Germany, UK, Libya, Qatar  Priority Sectors: Textiles, building materials, machinery, aerospace industry components, renewable energy  Onshore - Offshore companies  Strengths: Geographical position, its educated workforce, and its positive attitude toward FDI. 7

Investment Law (2016-71) http://www.investintunisia.tn/En/home_46_33  Improvement of Investment climate  Emphasis in protecting investor’s rights  New Incentive Schemes  Facilitation of foreign personnel  Free transfer of capitals  Special incentives for investments with national importance 8

Relevant Authorities  Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) www.investintunisia.tn (Information, guidance of Investors)  Agency for Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII) http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat.tn One stop shop for Investments in Industry. About 11 working days of procedures according to the World Bank. http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/tunisia#starting-a-business  National Tourism Office http://www.tourisme.gov.tn/pour- investir/prestations-administratives.html for investments in Tourism  Agricultural Investment and Promotion Agency (APIA) http://www.apia.com.tn/ for Investments in Agriculture 9

Incentives  Income tax rate reduced to 10 % for totally exporting companies,  Total exemption from VAT and customs duties on inputs to products to be re-exported,  Total tax exemption of benefits for up to 10 years granted to companies operating in regional development zones  Specific investment grants in regional development zones covering up to 30 % of investment cost capped at 3 MTND  Investment grants for priority sectors,  Economic yield grant on intangible investment and research and development expenditure  Subsidy of employers’ contribution to mandatory schemes,  Subsidy of expenses incurred under training programs leading to certification  Special Incentives for Regional Development Zones (ZDR) http://www.parcs-activites.tn/index.html 10

Taxation  General taxation of Companies: 25%  In Agriculture, fishery, Artisan activities 10%  VAT 19%  Recent Increases in custom duties as a means of improving the trade balance 11

Practical Information  Payments: Cash against documents, Letter of Credit  Currency: Tunisian Dinar, capital controls. Non-residents are exempt from most exchange regulations  Foreign investors can transfer abroad funds in foreign currency with minimal interference from the Central Bank.  Languages: Arabic, French  A safe Investment and tourism destination  Tunisian – European Chamber 12

Conclusions  Positive prospects for bilateral cooperation despite of present problems of the Tunisian economy  Promising sectors for exports: Building materials, pharmaceuticals, agricultural equipment,  Important Sector: Cooperation between Greek and Tunisian construction companies targeting the African market  Means of entering the Tunisian Market: Exhibitions, International Tenders in Tunisia, Trade Missions, Visits and information about the potential partners 13

Useful Links  Doing Business in Tunisia (In Greek) http://agora.mfa.gr/infofiles- menu/infofile/60144  EuroMed Trade Helpdesk: euromed.macmap.org  http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and- regions/countries/tunisia/  http://madb.europa.eu/madb/indexPubli.htm for Duties & taxes Procedures & documents, Statistics etc  Customs Duties http://www.douane.gov.tn/index.php?id=667  Checking legal status of the Tunisian companieshttp://www.registre- commerce.tn/search/RCCSearch.do?action=getPage&rg_type=PM &search_mode=NORMAL  Tenders: www.tuneps.tn, www.marchespublics.gov.tn 14

Thank You! Office for the Economic And Commercial Affairs Embassy of Greece in Tunis 6, rue St. Fulgence, Mutuelle Ville 1082, Tunis E-mail : grtradetun@mfa.gr, http://agora.mfa.gr 15